Vegetarian Vampires? Where's the Fun in THAT?!

I'm typically suspicious of vampire novels. I like the malevolent evil creatures too much (see explanation here) to see them portrayed poorly in campy film or literature, so have a natural predisposition to "keeping to the classics" of traditional lore or literature rather than trendy re-creations when looking for entertainment.

Still, having said such, I'm usually game to give something a shot if it's highly recommended or looks interesting, and so when one of Jeanna Tripp's friends recommended the new Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer, did some checking to see what it was about. I walked away with the initial first blush reactions:
* Hmmm... it's written for teen aged girls. I'm a 34 year old guy... do the math.
* It features "vegetarian" vampires. Vegetarian? Where's the fun in THAT?
* It's been labeled, as one of my friends put it, "Chick flick meets vampire drama".
Still, hoping for the best, i dove into the first book (Twilight) with considerable curiosity but not very high expectations. My analysis upon finishing was "Hmmm... not a very unique plot line..." (by her own admission, Stephanie Meyer gives regular homage to classic works of literature, and each of her books follows a traditional plot from, say, Romeo and Juliet, Sense and Sensibility, Midsummer Night's Dream, etc.)... but something in it perked my curiosity enough to read the second one. So i dove into New Moon (the second of the series), feeling a little odd about how eager i was to see what happened, and then by the third book (Eclipse) i was beginning to feel a little odd about the unfamiliar pangs of what i can only describe as what must be addiction gnawing at my subconscious. "What's wrong with me?" I would wonder amidst waves of anxious panic as the events unfolded, or tears welled in my eyes at particularly salient points in the plot. By Breaking Dawn, i was a complete mess. By that point, i needed certain things to happen. I needed for certain people to "win", certain people to "lose", certain things to "work out", and certain things to be "taken care of". Greedily downloading it for my Kindle the very minute after midnight that it became available, i read it without interruption on my way back from India. It was such an emotionally involved experience that i collapsed in exhaustion after finishing, and then promptly slept for the better part of 2 days (of course, 15 days in India and 48 hours of straight travel didn't have ANYTHING to do with it, i'm sure). When i finally managed to achieve my normal level of composure again, i mused to Sami that i still was surprised at how the series grabbed me... and... when all is said and done... that apparently, i have the emotional maturity of a 19 year old girl.